Mr. President: Would You Like A Little Cheese With Your Whine? Part 1

Before I start, let me state a disclaimer: up until last November, I had never voted for a Republican (I am almost 60 years old) for national office in my life. Thus, I certainly did not vote for George W. Bush and was certainly not a fan of his performance while in office.

However, I am really getting tired of President Obama's inability or unwillingness to step up to his own performance while in office. The latest example of this cowardice popped recently when members of his administration tried to divert attention from the Obama administration's disastrous support and lack of due diligence in the Solyndra affair. This affair has apparently cost the American taxpayer over half a billion dollars.

The Obama administration's spin doctors tried to divert the heat from the FBI, SEC, and Congressional investigations by saying that the Bush administration had strongly considered giving Solyndra the half a billion dollars. They fail to mention that the Bush administration refused to approve the loan based on their own due diligence. The Obama administration's desire was to pin blame on the Bush administration, which has been the modus operandi of the Obama administration.

But let's do a little math. Since the Democrats took over Congress in early 2007, we have had five years worth of Presidency, we have had five years of U.S. Senate behavior, and five years of House Of Representatives behavior, fifteen years worth of governance in total. During that time, the Democrats have controlled the White House for three years, they have controlled the Senate for all five years, and they have controlled the House of Representatives for four years.

Thus, over the past five years, the Democrats have controlled the halls of government for twelve years or 80% of the time (12 out of 15 years). Remember, I am historically not a Republican supporter so I have no axe to grind here, just a review of reality.

And what has this 80% gotten us today? Let's start with the latest observations from U.S. News and World Report editor Mort Zuckerman, writing in the latest issue of Financial Times:

• Mr. Zuckerman stated that "President Barack Obama's anti-business policies are causing business people to despair of recovery ever happening."
• "(Consumer confidence) numbers now match the drops seen after the Iran hostage crisis, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the collapse of Lehman Brothers."
• "This is a modern day depression, only this time soup lines have been replaced by unemployment checks."
• "Of course, none of this was helped by a government that lost credibility by predicting that its recovery programs would bring the jobless rate down and growth up."
• "This was the beginning of the yawning credibility gap between the Obama administration and business."
• "The gap is being aggravated by Mr Obama’s recent sharp turn to the left."
• Obama’s “resort to divisive populism – laying the blame on ‘fat cats’ and pillorying the president’s favorite villains – ‘millionaires and billionaires’ – is exactly the wrong approach.”
• “It seeds the suspicion that the administration is more interested in campaigning and undermines the confidence that business needs if it is to invest in the face of new regulations, health care costs and an increased bureaucracy.”
• “Businesses sense that the administration no longer understands how this perceived hostility saps the animal spirits required for taking risks on expansions and start-ups.
• Businesses are trying to enhance productivity, not create jobs, Zuckerman notes. “Polls show that business leaders are growing increasingly pessimistic,” he says. “In the past six months a third of companies have delayed or cancelled plans for capital spending.”

A major takeaway from Mr. Zuckerman's observation's and analyses is the lack of confidence that businesses now have in the Obama administration. The administration's economic policies have been a disaster so far, regardless of how much it continually blames the Bush administration, an administration that has been out of the picture for almost three years.

When a human being loses confidence in the future, they tend to pull in their horns and hunker down expecting the worse. The same mentality exists with businesses, which are run by human beings. The real problem with the economy then, what could Obama do to restore confidence. It is becoming obvious that move does not exist within his ability or willingness.

But Zuckerman is not alone in his appraisal of today's economic reality. Consider the results of a quarterly survey that Portfolio.com recently did of its CEO members:

• The latest results show that CEOs surveyed have reduced their forecasts for capital spending, and job growth for the next six months.
• 65% expect sales to increase, compared with 87 percent who thought so three months ago.
• 32%  expect to increase capital spending in the U.S., compared with 61 percent in the last survey.
• 36% expect to add employees, compared with 51 percent earlier.
• Almost 25% of CEOs plan to decrease employment, up from 11 percent three months ago.

Still do not believe the economy is heading for the rocks under the Obama administration's and Democrats' guidance? Consider the latest from Goldman Sachs:

• Their latest analysis predicts that the chance of a near time recession are getting higher and higher.
• A near term recession would be shallow but painful, bringing unemployment rates up to 12 percent from their current levels of around 9 percent.

But the economy is not the only major problem of the Obama administration:

• An Associated Press report indicates that the disability fund of Social Security is rapidly approaching insolvency according to an Associated Press report from August 22, 2011. The latest estimates from Congressional experts forecast the program will not be able to pay full benefits starting in 2017 unless something is done. It is not obvious that anyone in the administration or in Congress is working to fix this problem. Will Obama blame Bush for this?
• In one of the most bungled Federal government operations of all time, Fast and Furious, the Obama administration allowed thousands of guns to be illegally purchased in this country and illegally allowed to cross the border into Mexico, likely in violation of numerous international treaties. These guns have been involved in numerous crimes and deaths in this country and in Mexico, including the violent deaths of two U.S. Federal agents. Recent news reports report that a cache of the illegal guns was found at the home of one of Mexico's biggest drug cartel leaders. Will Obama blame Bush for this disaster?
• In the latest blatant display of cronyism and conflict of interest from the Obama administration, Nancy Pelosi's brother-in-law's company was granted a last minute Federal government $737 million grant to build a solar energy plant in the Nevada desert. Will Obama blame Bush for this conflict of interest or the loss of a three quarters billion dollars of taxpayer wealth if this company goes the way of Solyndra?
• The financial situations in Greece and other countries in Europe are deteriorating more quickly than expected, possibly leading to national defaults, bank defaults, and a tidal wave of economic downturn. Will Obama blame Bush for the Greece financial fiasco?

You get the idea. the Democrats have been in charge of the major functions of government for 80% of the time over the past five years. I am not saying the Bush administration is not to blame for anything but the Democrats and the rest of the political class have to step up and admit that major mistakes have been made by them, including Obama.

If they do not, then the focus of the political class in general, and the Obama administration in particular, will waste way too much energy and focus pinning blame on others for their failings rather than remedying their failings and resolving the major issues facing the nation. The Obama administration's attempt to pin some of the responsibility for Solyndra is just the latest, and one of the most pathetic, symptoms of failure.

An old saying points out that leaders accept blame and give credit. This administration certainly does not fit this definition since it looks to give blame at every opportunity and accept credit whenever possible, it has gotten it backwards. Which may explain the lack of confidence and lack of credibility discussed above, this administration has everything backwards.





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